ISLAMABAD, Nov 4(ABC): A study reviewing data from nearly 3,000 U.S. counties has found an association between lack of access to healthy food and increased rates of death from heart failure, reported Science Daily.
Meanwhile, living in a community with access to more grocery stores and local, healthy food resources was significantly associated with lower rates of death from heart failure, said the report on the medical website, citing new research published in Circulation: Heart Failure, an American Heart Association journal.
“Researchers found that lower levels of food insecurity by county were associated with lower rates of death due to heart failure,” it noted.
Food insecurity occurs when healthy food is not readily available daily, due to poverty or socioeconomic challenges, causing people to go hungry or eat food that is of reduced quality, variety, or desirability, it said.
“Heart failure mortality is on the rise in populations that live in socioeconomic deprivation, and, importantly, we believe that nutrition plays a role in heart failure mortality, and food insecurity may be particularly detrimental in this population,” quoted lead study author Keerthi T. Gondi added as saying.
